UK teen Toby Roberts clinches Olympic climbing gold

FE Team | Published: August 09, 2024 22:48:49

(From L) Japanese silver medalist Sorato Anraku, British gold medalist Toby Roberts and Austrian bronze medalist Jakob Schubert pose on the podium after the men's sport climbing lead final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in Le Bourget on Friday — AFP

LE BOURGET, France, Aug 09 (AFP): British teenager Toby Roberts claimed gold in the boulder and lead climbing event at the Paris Olympics on Friday after Japan's Sorato Anraku fell.
Roberts, 19, scored 92.1 points on the lead wall, taking his overall score to 155.2 points after placing third in the boulder round.
Anraku, the favourite to clinch the title in Paris, had been in front after the boulder section but fell on his final lead climb and had to settle for silver, with 145.4 points.
Austria's Jakob Schubert won bronze with 139.6 points.
"I've got no words. I'm just riding on adrenaline right now, but I feel incredible," said Roberts.
"I already knew I had won the silver medal, so I was really happy anyway just watching him (Anraku).
"Then (when Anraku fell) to realise that I had just become Olympic champion, I was just 'Wow, no words'."
Spain's Alberto Gines Lopez, the first Olympic champion in the discipline at the Tokyo Games, finished seventh on front of a crowd of more than 6,000 at the Le Bourget climbing venue.